Starting Over
by GOthIC-anGELz
Summary: After the final ceremony was done the Yami's were gifted bodies of there own. But Yugi is then pushed aside and forgotten only to find a new direction in life and decides to leave japan to pursue his new career in snow boarding and new friends. Will Yami finally realise his mistake and join his aibou on his new path or will it be to late pairings R/bB, M/M, S/OC, eventually Y/Y
1. Chapter 1

A/N I do not own Yugioh I only own the original characters that pop up in this and nope I didn't do the whole put yourself in the story thing these characters will come from my imagination! So please enjoy will be slightly dark but also have some humor!

…..

Yugi mutou sighed as he watched his _friends_ once again leave the classroom without him. He wasn't surprised by their actions, ever since the yami's had received their own bodies after the ceremonial duel Yugi had been pushed aside and forgotten. It had happened gradually, his friend's excitement to get to know his darkness Yami (he had chosen to keep Yami as his name) and show him Domino City and over time Yugi had stopped being invited altogether. He gathered his books to go to lunch but his mind wandered, what had changed? Why was he so invisible to everyone except Ryou and his Yami; Bakura.

He walked into the lunchroom and straight past his old friends, noticing they didn't even acknowledge him and straight to the white haired boys. Yugi sat down and Ryou immediately held worry in his brown eyes.

"What happened Yugi?" his amethyst eye's meet his concerned friends and smiled at him noticing his Bakura's arm around the caring boy. The Hikaru and Yami had become a couple a few weeks after Bakura gained his body, acknowledging that his host had been his perfect aibou.

"Same old thing Ry-ry, just over it all. I wish he would stop ignoring me" the two smaller boy's heard Bakura growl at the neglect for his friend. Both boy's knew that Yugi loved Yami and yet the foolish Pharaoh pushed him away like he was just a toy he had finished playing with "I wish, I wish I could find something that gave me meaning again, when Yami gained his own body he took over Duel monster I feel lost" the three boy's heard laughter coming from the old group and glared

"They are fools Yugi, do not waste your time thinking about the vermin" Yugi looked to Bakura, his gruff and intimidating voice breaking through his depressed mood and he nodded. Bakura's blue eyes stared intently at him as if he was looking for an answer. "You don't need them you have us and Marik and Malik

"I think I'm going to go home guy's I'm just over today" the two white haired loves frowned as they watched their spikey haired friend leave the cafeteria sluggishly and flashed another look of disgust at the smaller boys so called other friends…if only they knew what they were doing to him.

…

Yugi didn't know where he was going, he just let his feet do the walking for him hoping that his sadness would lead him somewhere that gave him a sense of direction. He kicked a pebble as a tear slipped out of one of his eyes and frowned. _Why don't you love me Yami?_ He didn't understand, all the other Hikaru's and their Yami's seemed to gravitated towards each other and end up together but not him and Yami, they seemed to grow further apart every day and the emptiness in the small 17 year old grew with it. Yugi came to a stop and noticed he had walked into Kiaba Land unintentionally but he was in front of a building he had never noticed before. He looked at the sign on top of the door and raised an eyebrow _Snow planet?_ He shrugged and entered the building hoping that his feet had lead him somewhere worth it. When he entered he was greeted by a girl who looked a few years older than himself, a big smile plastered on her face. Her brown eye's shone down at him and he couldn't help but smile back.

"Hey shorty how can I help you?" Yugi frowned, he hated people bringing up his height

"What is this place?" He watched the girl brush her brown curls out of her face and her smile grew

"A newbie aye? Welcome to snow planet, a magical place where you can shred down the majestic white fake mountain and leave your problems at the door!" he raised an eye brow at her and she motioned him to follow her to a giant glass window separating the buildings café and snow slope. Yugi looked through the window and his eyes lit up. People were on skis and snowboards 'shredding' as the girl had put it through the snow. Some were doing tricks on rails and jumps while others were just enjoying descending down the slope and carving out a trail. The one thing that Yugi noticed was how care free they looked, like nothing bothered them. "Awesome isn't it, sure the real mountains are amazing but to have a slope in the off seasons is the best!" Yugi turned his attention back to the girl and she smiled at him again as he nodded "So what will it be shorty?"

"Excuse me?" Yugi didn't understand her question and she ruffled her hand in his hair

"Board or skis Shorty?" his eyes widened and shook his head, there was no way he could do what the people behind the glass were doing.

"I-I can't do that, I'm to uncoordinated!" the girl laughed and wrapped her arm around his shoulder

"Board it is! Give me a few seconds. The boss man owes me a few favors. I'll call him and get you kitted out for free" Yugi's eyes dropped and the girl frowned at him "What's the matter Shorty?"

"Kiaba, He-he doesn't like me" The girl's smile was straight back on her face and she threw her head back laughing

"Leave that to me Shorty, boss man can't say no to me!" Yugi watched her pull out her phone and call the tall blue eyed man that despised him "Yo boss man, have a newbie here with me named Yugi and I'm wanting to kit him out from head to toe so calling in that favor you owe me" the girl frowned and held the phone away from her air, clearly Kiaba did not appreciate her request "Now you listen here, I don't care if you have something against his friend Yami but I see some potential in this little guy and I'm going to take him under my wing and you owe me Seto. So get that stick out of your ass" Yugi stared at the phone in her hand shocked, no one ever talked to Kiaba that way. The smile returned on her face and she turned to Yugi holding out her hand "So Yugi my name's Kya and you Shorty are now under my tutorage and above all my friend so come on, I'll hook you up with everything you need and well hit the slope" Yugi looked up at her and grabbed her hand, something about this girl gave him the confidence to give it a go and he knew that he could trust her

"All right Kya you have yourself a student"


	2. The devil rail

It had been a year since Yugi had walked into Snow Planet and had met his enthusiastic friend Kya and started to learn how to snow board. It had taken him a while to get the hang of it and after many weeks of bruises and sore ankles he found he was no longer falling face first into the white powder which surprisingly hurt a lot. Once he had got the basics down Kya had started pushing him, challenging him to try the rails and jumps and teaching him a new trick every day. Kya had always had a smile for Yugi even though he would admit his best friend scared him like no other as a trainer. He smiled as he remembered his first encounter with the curly haired brunet. She was right, he did have potential and after months of training she had thrown him into competitions where he found himself climbing the ranks to top positions. He shook his head and chuckled throwing his books into his locker and grabbing one's he needed for his next class. Yugi lived and breathed boarding, every day before and after school Kya had demanded him to be on the slope training, he didn't mind though as at the end of each session they usually found themselves having fun and messing around trying to outdo each other. Yugi heard a familiar crowed of people and his face dropped, even though he had found a new purpose that he loved he still felt the pang of betrayal in his heart whenever he saw his old group and his crush. Even though it had been over a year he still loved Yami and Yami still took no notice of him, even though he was still living with him and his grandfather in the game shop.

"What's wrong Mutou?" he perked up at the familiar drawl of the Kaiba Corp CEO and smiled

"Nothing Seto, just thinking" the older boy nodded, his arm's crossed and eyes dissecting his answer. "Hope Kya wasn't too pissed at me this morning" the taller boy's eye's softened at the mention of his girlfriend

"Far from it Mutou, she knows how much of bitch that rail is, she said you took a pretty hard fall off it, come to the medics before training so they can check your shoulder" Yugi chuckled, he knew it was Kya's idea and not Seto's. Yugi knew the blue eyed boy thought that whenever Yugi got hurt it would toughen him and that he shouldn't be coddled but his girlfriend would scold him, telling him that her protégée needed to be taken care of so no serious damage could go unnoticed and ruin his budding career.

"It's fine Seto, just a bruise see" the magenta haired boy took off his snowboarding jacket and showed him his arm, rolling it around to show no damage had been done except for a dark bruise starting to form "Barley even hurts anymore" Kiaba's eyes narrowed and shook his head

"That wasn't a request Yugi, Kya would kill me if you did any permanent damage, by the way she told me to tell you your new board was in" Yugi's big amethyst eyes widened in excitement and he jumped up and down causing Kaiba to glare at him "She wants you to try it out today before you guy's leave" Yugi nodded excitedly, Kaiba was paying for his girlfriend and friend to fly to New Zealand for their snow season so they could get in some serious training before the regional competitions that Kaiba Corp was holding in a few months. Yugi was excited to go away with his best friend, sure he had been to one of the mountains here before but he heard that the New Zealand ski fields were where you could get the best experience in and if they wanted to get scouted in the regionals it was where they needed to be. Ever since Yugi had started Kya had told him all about how their were scouts for potential sponsor's going to be at the regionals and if they got picked up that they could even one day reach the world champs to compete and Yugi had been striving ever since to achieve his new dream.

"It's here! I can't wait to try it out on majestic!" Kaiba chuckled at the nickname his girlfriend and friend had given the snow planet slope. He didn't know how he had put up with them for so long but when Kaiba had actually spent time with the shorter boy he found him to be much like his brother Mokuba and treated him as such.

"Yugi!" the boys turned around to find an out of breath Ryou running towards them a giant smile gracing his features "B-Bakura said I can go without him!" the boy held onto Yugi trying to catch his breath "I'm coming with you and Kya!"

"Guess I need to book a bigger place for you guys then" Kaiba sighed and walked off leaving Yugi with his white haired friend. Ryou had taken much pleasure in finding out his friend's new passion and joined him on the slope every day only the other boy skied. Yugi was shocked to discover Ryou and his family use to go away every year before they passed away to the slopes although Ryou would never gain the nerves to enter a competition much to Yugi's dismay.

"You're leaving?" Yugi spun around, his heart clenching at the deep baritone voice that rung through Yugi's ears. It was the first time his look alike had talked to him outside of home where he would usually acknowledge him briefly if they crossed paths. Crimson eyes stared at him in shock looking down at Yugi who was still a few inches taller than him. The smaller boy blushed as he took in his other half's outfit, the same blue uniform with a leather, sleeveless vest underneath and signature neck belt that Yugi had long ago abandoned for a more relaxed look

"Oh, hey…Yami" he nodded, taking off his snowboarding beanie that he usual wore as they weren't allowed to wear it in class and throwing it in his locker as well, trying to ignore the pain rising in his chest. _Why pay attention to me now?_

"Are you leaving?" this time the question was more forceful as the ex-pharaoh took in his Hikaru's new laid back appearance. His matching school uniform was carelessly chucked together and underneath he wore a burton logo t-shirt and high top chucks. Yugi froze looking to Ryou for help who was gapping at Yami

"Why do you even care Yami?" Yugi replied, slamming his locker closed and turning angrily to him, the pain of the other boy's abandonment flowing out of him. Yami looked at him, his lips pursed in a thin line and Yugi swore he saw hurt flash in his eyes. He opened his mouth to say something when a yell rang out

"SHORTY!" Kya ran up to him and wrapped her arms around her friend and also pulled Ryou with her "I can't believe were going! Come on we need to get to Majesty to try out the dark magician and your new bindings!" Yami pulled the girl away from Yugi and glared at her

"If you don't mind I'm trying to have a conversation with my aibou" Yugi cringed at Yami's nickname for him and Kya turned on Yami, anger flashing in the girls eyes

"Woah, Kya I can't leave, schools just stared, the majesty is just going to have to wait and did you name my custom the dark magician?" Yugi felt Yami's eyes bore into him trying to ignore him. Kya's smile returned but still stared defiantly at Yami

"Yeah, I remember saying he used to be your favorite duel monster so I got one of the guys to make the bottom design of that and if I don't say so myself it looks damn amazing, of course because it was my idea!" Yugi chuckled and gave his best friend a hug "Oh shorty don't get all soft on me now, my protégée has to be tough! Especially since I expect you to finally tackle the devil rail!"

"Aibou?" Yami's voice sounded softer and Yugi looked at his crush, his head was cocked to the side, staring at him intently

"Oh, don't worry Yami it's only for a couple of months. I have…um…training to do" Yugi didn't want to give anything away to his darker half. He was not going to let him ruin this for him to. Yugi had come so far and he didn't want to get dragged back into a world of card games and ignorance. He had found a passion in the cold embrace of the snow and the freedom his boards gave him, not to mention the adrenalin he got when he finally landed a new trick

"Come on Shorty, the longer we stand here the less time you have to finally conquer the devil and don't worry I got gramp's to ring the school and pull you out today, even you Ryou if you want to come along!" Yugi nodded and pulled out his boarding jacket and beanie out of his locker that he had placed in their ten minutes ago. He turned to Yami once again, giving him a weak smile

"Look after grandpa for me okay? I'll be back in two months so not long at all" Yugi was pulled away by Kya who practically dragged him down the hall, babbling to him about how he was finally once and for all take on that damn rail that had given him the same bruise on his shoulder this morning.

….

Yami sunk down in his next to his sandy haired friend Joey and sighed, why was his aibou so cold towards him and what exactly was he training for? He sighed and leant on one of his hands that was propped up on the desk. Sure he and his little Hikaru barely spent much time together now but that was because Yugi was gone before he got up and then when he got home he quickly ate his dinner and went to bed. Yami had eventually given up, to distracted by his friends and dueling to put in any effort towards the younger boy and he knew he could have tried harder _when did we become so distant?_

"Hey Yami, what's got you so down?" he felt worried eye's on him and looked up. Anzu, Joey and Tristian all looked at him, concerned in their eyes

"I, When did Yugi change?" there eyes widened at the mention of their forgotten friend "I tried to talk to him in the hallway before he left with some girl and Ryou, he…he was so cold towards me" Joey patted him on the shoulder and shrugged

"No clue Yami, we haven't seen him or talked to him in so long we didn't even notice" Joey's voice sounded regretful, disappointment emitting from him and their two other friends "He seems happy though"

"How do you know that?" Anzu smiled at him and nodded trying to reassure Yami that his other half was well

"From when we do seem him around he's always smiling and laughing with Ryou, Bakura, Marik and Malik so he must be ok" Yami couldn't help feel sadness well up in him, wasn't it his job to make his aibou smile? Had he really let him down that much? "And we always see him around with that girl Kya, Kaiba's girlfriend" _since when did Yugi hang around with Kaiba and his girlfriend?_

"I just, I miss him" the others nodded in agreement, without Yugi they felt that their group was missing something "I wish I knew what it was he was up to, he never told me where he was going" the group stared at him with wide eyes

"He's leaving?" Tristan gasped, shocked that Yugi even had the confidence to leave the city without them. Yami nodded solemnly and frowned

"Yea, for two months, training for something apparently. Ryou's going with him" the group cast a worry look at their friend knowing that he was in love with the smaller boy "Have I been so bad to him that he can't even share with me that?"

"Yami…We haven't even talked to him in over a year…we all treated him badly" Joey's words were a whisper but they all knew they had done wrong by their friend. "Hey why don't we ask Bakura! You said Ryou's going with him maybe we can find out what's been going on through him!" Yami looked up and smiled

"Yea, that sounds like a good idea!"

…..

Yugi looked down at his new board in shock, when Kya said that it was amazing she wasn't joking. Underneath the glossy fiber glass the Dark magician stared up at him and Yugi couldn't help but smile. Just like when he played duel monster's he knew that the dark magician would give him the strength to overcome anything in snowboarding _even that damn rail_ he thought to himself. The happiness was laced with sadness though as it reminded him of Yami, even with a new path he was still connected to his darkness. He pulled his goggles over his beanie and stared down at his plain black burton boots a sense of determination flowing through him _todays the day I beat the devil_. He picked up his new board a stalked into to slope room staring directly at the 3 meter long and meter and a half tall rail _you will not beat me this time!_

"Hurry up slacker and get your ass on the lift, if you want to win regionals you need that rail!" Yugi nodded walking over to the pogo looking objects hanging off a thick wire. Clipping his boots into his board and tightening his new black bindings he stood up and grabbed onto one of the pogo's and leaned back waiting for the jolt of the lift moving. He remembered when he first tried to do this and had fallen straight on his face, holding up the lift as he slowly moved out of the way as Kya laughed at him. After a few minutes he jumped off smiling at Kya who was staring at him, trainer face on. She pointed a finger at the devil rail "That Yugi, is the one thing standing between you and your dream. Time and time again it has bruised you, sprained you and left you defeated. But not here, not today…today you shall stare the devil in the face, slide the dark magician over its cold steel and defeat him!" Yugi cracked up laughing, Kya was acting like he was about to go into battle "This is not a laughing matter shorty!"

"I'm sorry Kya! It's like I'm about to run head first into battle!" her brown eyes glared at him and she folded her arms huffing

"Well excuse me for being awesome and trying to give you the best pep talk any coach has given their student!" Yugi smiled, no matter what happened this girl in front of him could make the day brighter "You ready?" Yugi nodded. He jumped so his board was facing down the slope and pulled up his blue bandanna so his nose was protected from the cold. He stared down the slope and spotted his target, determination flaring up in his eyes again. He jumped and felt his new board slide down the slope, heading towards the left, Yugi lifted the back of one of his heels while planting the other one down so it turned to the right and he continued to gather speed. People stopped to watch him, snow flicking out the back of his path as he continued his weave down, eye's focused. He came nearer to the devil and rises his arms to his sides, one pointing directing at the cool steel and the other to the top of the hill. He heard Kya yelling at him words of encouragement as he lifted up his legs and jumped, managing to miss the lip of the rail and land perfectly sideways, the board skidded quickly and Yugi felt exhilarated _Finally I've done it!_ He smiled triumphantly too soon and his board started wobbling out of his control _fuck_ he felt himself slip off the fail and braced himself for the impact of the snow, thankfully this time he had managed to avoid falling on it. He lay on his back, winded as Ryou came skidding to a halt next to him and offered his hand to help him up.

"You okay Yugi?" the spikey haired boy growled at the one above him, his amused smile teasing him "You were so close this time!" Yugi accepted his hand and heaved himself up just as Kya joined them

"Back on the lift Yugi! No time for rest, we are going to do this again and again until you get this right!" This is why Yugi feared Kya as a trainer, she was relentless and Yugi knew that he was going to need an ice bath after this or the plane trip tomorrow was going to be agonizing

…..

Yami followed Bakura into Kaiba land frowning, why would Yugi be here? He didn't duel anymore? "Bakura, Yugi won't be here" the white haired boy spun around, blue eyes glaring at him

"Are you that ignorant _Pharaoh_, Kaiba land isn't just for dueling" Yami glared back, what was he talking about. He spun around, beckoning him to follow once again and lead him to a large building unknown to Yami "Now remember what I said, if you even try to convince Yugi not to leave tomorrow I'll have your head. He's doing well and he could go so far so if you in anyway stand in his way I'll make you regret it _pharaoh_" Yami nodded and smile on his lips, finally he was going to learn why his aibou was so busy. He followed Bakura into the building and was lead over to a big window that looked into a giant white slope. He gazed shocked, looking over the people inside trying to find a familiar face. He spotted the girl who had taken Yugi away today right at the top, pointing vigorously down to an intimidating rail and talking to a shorter boy that Yami knew could only be one person

"That's Yugi?" he asked in utter disbelief and heard Bakura chuckle. He couldn't take his eyes of the smaller version of him who was nodding and intently listening to the girl Kya

"Yip, he's been trying to tackle the devil rail for months now. Damn thing is impossible the only person whose done it is Kya herself" Yami frowned, was his aibou going to be hurt? "Don't worry Pharaoh he isn't as fragile as you think, just watch" His heart clenched as he saw Yugi turn and start descending down the slope, gracefully swerving side to side and Yami's mouth dropped _he was so good_

…

"Come on Shorty! Don't let the devil beat you! You can do this! I know you can! Heck your skills are better than mine now and if I can do it then so can you!" Yugi frowned, his confidence wavering. His arms, legs and back were aching after his many attempts at the rail ending up in failure "And you don't want to let that bastard Yami get pleasure out of watching you fail do you!" Yugi's eyes widened _yami's here?_ "That bastard is down there, in the café Yugi, watching you, waiting for you to prove you're not good enough so show him my protégée! Show him what you're really made of!" his eyes hardened and he nodded. He was going to show him finally that he was someone without him. He turned his board and raised his hand to fist bump Kya and took off. His speed gaining every second, eyes focused on one thing and one thing only. _Three…two…ONE!_ Yugi jumped, the sound of his board slapped against the steel of the devil and he leaned back a bit. Balancing out the weight of his speed. He had never been so sure of himself and he decided to turn around backwards on the rail with a new sense of accomplishment and a push to challenge himself. He heard Kya yelling at him excitedly and smiled as he neared the end of the railing. All he had to do was land it and he had defeated the devil rail. He lifted his legs and jumped off, the air rushing under his board and braced for the impact of the snow. He felt his board shudder but kept control and continued to the end of the slop raising one of his arms in the air and fist pumped _I DID IT! I beat the devil rail!_ He lift both tips of his feet and came to a stop, spraying snow at the window in front of him and the shocked crimson eyes of Yami but Yugi didn't notice. He was too filled with the joy and excitement that he had finally bet the rail that he despised. He felt someone tackled him to the ground in a bear hug, boards still stuck on both their feet clashing together awkwardly "You did it shorty! I knew you could do it! I'm so proud of you!" Yugi hugged his dear friend back, his grin 100 watts

"Thank you Kya! Thank you so much, without you I could never have accomplished any of this" his friend chuckled and ruffled his head pulling him up and into another hug

"No Yugi, this was all you" he looked through the glass and his eyes met Yami's crimson ones who stared at him in shock and awe. Yugi smiled at him, knowing that his darkness could never bring him down again.


	3. Goodbyes

Yugi woke up to his blankets being ripped off him and someone jumping on top of him roughly, he smiled knowing it could only be one person and opened his amethyst orbs. Kya beamed down at him and gave him a sloppy kiss on the cheek and he heard his other friend Ryou chuckle. "Rise and shine shorty! Its travel time!" she hoped off him and bounced across the room to his wardrobe and chucked his outfit at him he had put aside. "Can you believe it guys! We're really going!"

"Calm down Kya, it's not like you haven't been there before" Yugi grumbled at her, slightly annoyed at being woken up so suddenly. Kya brushed off his comment and bounced on her feet

"I know but I love it on Ruapehu! I can't wait for you guy's to get up there! It's just absolutely stunning and both ski areas are nothing like you've ever seen!" Yugi smiled, the excitement settling into him as he finally realised that he was leaving Japan for the first time in his life

"Hurry up before she burst's Yugi and doesn't give you any time to say goodbye to Sugoroku" Ryou's smile matched those of the other two and Yugi nodded, ushering them out of the room so he could get changed as they grabbed his bags for him. He quickly got changed into his comfortable track pants, t-shit and Kathmandu jacket, Kya had mentioned to him that it was going to be a long flight so comfort won out over style. He grabbed the only two things left, his board and flight bag which held his laptop, phone and passport along with other essentials and ran down stairs to see is grandfather cooking him breakfast.

"Oh grampa, you didn't need to, I don't even think I have time" he looked over to Kya who smiled at him, nodding that it was okay and sat down at the table

"Don't talk such nonsense my dear boy! I will not let you leave this house without a proper meal" His grandfather was a smaller older version of Yugi with grey spiked hair and wise old eyes that had seen many adventures in his time. He plated up piles of food and handed plates to all three of them and then look at the stairs "Yugi, would you mind getting Yami? It's your last meal here for two months and it doesn't feel right not having him at the table with us" Yugi's heart clenched, although it wasn't as bad as normal his grandfather was right. Yugi walked up the stairs, feeling the concerned eyes of his two friends boring into his back. His hands wear shaking as he reached the top of the stairs and knocked on Yami's door

"Who is it?" The deep baritone voice made Yugi wince, it held a sad tone to it and Yugi couldn't help but feel it was because of him

"It's Yugi, Grampa told me to come get you for my send off breakfast" there was silence on the other side of the door and Yugi didn't know whether to leave or not, he was about to say something when the door open and Yami stood there, an envelope in his hands and an encouraging smile on his lips

"Come on then Aibou" He walked past him and left him to trail after him, confused at how cool he was acting _he still doesn't care_ Yugi thought to himself

"Don't worry Gramps! Nothing will happen to Shorty in my care, I'm a picture of maturity!" Yugi laughed at his friend's attempt of acting like the responsible adult

"I doubt that Kya! I'll probably be the one saving your ass on the slope when your ego gets the better of you!" all eyes and smiles flashed to Yugi once again as he poked fun at his sister like friend

"I'm the oldest shorty there for I'm the one that's going to be in charge!" Yugi and Ryou shared a knowing glance, Kya had been spending the past year trying to get them to have more fun and get out of their shells which she had been slowly accomplishing

"Now now, hurry up and eat breakfast you two, don't want to hold Seto's plane up" Yugi sat down and grabbed some bacon, toast and a few eggs and glanced over to Yami who looked deep in thought. He felt Yugi's eyes on him and gave him a sad look before starting to eat "So what's the plan for when you get there? How will I contact you?"

"Seto will drop off all the info for you Gramps when he's done with work today. Pretty much we'll be staying in our own lodges for the time. One on each side of the mountain as were going to divide the time between the Turoa and Whakapapa ski fields" Yugi was curious about how the names rolled off Kya's tongue, he had never heard those kind of words before

"Those are weird place names" Kya raised her eyebrow at Yami who finally decided to speak, he still didn't know where it was they were going and Yugi didn't have time to tell Kya not to mention it before she started talking again

"Oh! It's Maori, native language of New Zealand, they barely talk it there anymore but a lot of place names are in the language" Yugi frowned, concerned crossed Yami's features and he felt him trying to open their mind link "Don't worry! New Zealanders are really cool people, laid back, friendly, wicked sense of humour to"

"_You're going so far away Aibou" _Yugi felt a protectiveness from Yami's mind link and shrugged, this was not how he wanted this to go

"_It's not really Yami and besides when did you start to care"_ Yugi felt Yami quickly shut off the link and glare at him

"Right, sorry grampa but we best be off, long flight ahead of us!" Yugi flicked one last glance at Yami who was pushing food around his plate, a slight pout on his lips and Yugi felt the urge to kiss him pass over him _get a hold of yourself, just because he starts to act like your alive again doesn't mean you can turn back into a love sick puppy again. _Sugoroku stood up and held his only grandson in a tight embrace "Hey, I'm coming back grampa, don't worry" the older man had tears in his eyes and Yugi felt himself do the same

"Hey you two no tears! This is a good thing, Yugi's about to embark on his first overseas experience and it's going to be magical, crazy, gruelling hard work and of course fun and I promise I'll bring him back in one piece!" No one noticed but at the last part she looked straight at Yami as if she was making the promise to him. Yugi let go off his grandfather and the older man left the room

"Um…we'll give you two a few minutes…" Ryou awkwardly pulled Kya out of the room leaving Yugi and Yami alone, both staring anywhere but each other

"So….." Yugi breathed out, his palms sweating and heart racing in his chest. Yami's eyes met his and Yugi felt his strong resolve weakening

"Aibou, there's so much I want to say to you but I won't…Not right now. You need to walk out that door right now before I try and stop you because we both know this is the right thing for you as much as my need to protect you is screaming in every fibre of my being" Yugi's mouth dropped open and he felt his heart sear in pain and anger

"Protect me? Are you kidding? That's the only reason you would stop me from going?" Yami stood up, eyes focused on Yugi angrily "I'm going to leave Yami, not because you told me to but because this is what I want, what I need. I couldn't give two shits about what you feel is right and if you think that you have a right to even THINK that you could stop me; you'd be sorely mistaken" Yugi was furious and felt his heart breaking _he only think's he cares because he feels he owes me, feels he has to protect me like he use to _"I am not weak Yami, not anymore and you can shove your need to protect me because I don't need it, I don't need _you"_ Yugi picked up his board and bag and stalked out of the game shop, slamming the door behind him and leaving a bewildered Yami behind. He wretched open the limo door, chucked his things in and flopped down in one of the seat's, tears flowing freely down his face.

"Yugi…" Ryou's voice was timid and held question but Yugi just smiled sadly at him

"Don't worry guy's I'm fine, once were on that plane none of this will matter anymore, so let's get going" his two friends nodded and Kya signalled to the driver to go. _The sooner we're away from here the better._

….

Yami watched the limo leave from his bedroom window and flopped down on his bed, he had never seen his Hikaru so angry at him before and it cut him deep. How did he think he didn't care for him? He loved his aibou with all his heart. He put his head in his hands and sighed, this time Yugi was leaving him behind and now he knew how his other half had felt all those months and he felt like an asshole. Yugi was right, he didn't need protection anymore. Yami had seen that for himself the day he saw him on that rail, his little Hikaru had grown up and gained complete confidence in himself and Yami hadn't supported him at all…he had done it all by himself. He just hoped that once he read the letter he slipped in Yugi's bag it would give him a chance in the future to fix things.


	4. The lodge

Yugi stared in awe at the lodge that was in front of him, it was a two story manor looking building completely made out of wooden logs that fitted perfectly into place. Each room on the top floor had impressive balconies that had vines tangling the railings and a rimu table with long seats that accommodated 3 people each side. It looked warm and welcoming but very elite which was made obvious by the two stored size front doors that had intricate carvings of ferns. Leading up to the front door was a dirt path lined with more ferns and grey stepping stones that had a type of shell Yugi had never seen before pressed into it. Surrounding the house was nothing but native bush and Yugi shuddered at the thought of bugs, he remembered watching a show where a man had eaten a weta the size of a hand In New Zealand and he hoped that they weren't in this area.

"Kaiba rented this whole place? For just us?" he asked Kya who was standing next to him and he noticed a frown plastered on her face.

"Annoyingly yes, this lodge is usually meant to hold around 20 people but Seto being the way he is booked the whole place. Sometimes I can't stand when he does things like this, I love meeting new people and booking the whole place takes away from the experience of this trip" Kya sighed and picked up her bags "At least I managed to convince him not to hire the staff that comes with this place, the thought of having people wait on us makes me so uncomfortable, were meant to be roughing it not living it up in a five star lodge"

"You could have asked him to keep the chef on at least Kya! We're both terrible cook's except for Yugi!" Ryou piped up, Kya glared at the white haired boy which only made him smile at her brightly "Oh come on, we both know we have the potential to poison us!"

"Hey, I don't mind cooking guys, I find it therapeutic! As long as the kitchens all stocked up I'll make sure were fed well" The three made their way into the lodge and was greeted by a staunch looking man who raised an eyebrow at them questionably

"Kya Tonaku I presume?" Kya nodded and he handed her over a set of keys "Right, groceries will be delivered every Sunday morning, housekeeping will be done every second Monday, you have a choice of any three rooms you like and in case of an emergency dial 111. There will be a car to pick all of you up at 9 am Monday to Friday and retrieve you from the mountain at 4pm. The rest of the information you need is all in the pack left on the dining room table along with my contact number if you need anything else. Please do your best to not destroy the place" the three friends gapped at the man's retreating back as he quickly closed the door, obviously not impressed at how young they were.

"Well that was…rude" Ryou frowned, confused at how the man had judged them so quickly. Kya just shrugged her shoulders

"What do you expect, he thinks that we're three 18 year olds with rich parents and are going to destroy the lodge by throwing raging parties the whole time we're here" There was a twinkle in her eye and she placed a hand on her curvy hip

"But you're the only 18 year old…" Yugi raised an eyebrow confused as Kya gave him her cheeky hundred watt smile that he had come to associate with trouble

"Well Shorty, Kaiba may have…lied about Ryou's and yours age to rent out this place, there was no way they would have given it to us if they knew there was only one person of age here" Yugi and Ryou smiled back at her before Yugi looked towards the stairs and made a run for them

"Shot gun the biggest room!" he quickly darted up the stairs and made his way down a long hall way towards a door at the very end of it that he could only assume as the master bedroom. He heard Kya's footsteps running behind him, yelling angrily about him cheating and something about being the oldest. He quickly wrenched open the door and jumped on the bed, putting his hands behind his head as she dashed in "To late Kya!"

"Damn you Shorty! Next month I'm getting the bigger room!" she stormed out and Yugi took his time to look around the room. There was the two doors that he had seen from outside that lead out to the balcony and next to them was a door he assumed was to the bathroom. In front of the bed was a fire place with a small pile off wood next to it and a 32 inch flat screen above it placed in an alcove in the wall to protect it from the rising heat. The bed he was on was a four post bed and he assumed it was a California King bed because it was far too big to be anything else. There were also various portraits that hung around the room and a small couch and chair set off to the side with a table in the middle.

"Can you believe this place Yugi? I haven't been in this kind of luxury since duelist kingdom!" Yugi smiled at Ryou who had collected his bags for him and place them in the corner

"It's insane and it feels so…homely as well" Ryou sat at the end of the bed and stared out the window towards the mountain looming in the distance "One more day and we get to conquer that beast" Yugi smiled nervously, he knew Kya was going to push him to his limits and the mountain looked intimidating.

"At least Kya was nice enough to give us a day of rest to get over this jet lag, that plane flight was so long and driving all the way here from Auckland airport took forever!" Yugi hopped off the bed and grabbed his backpack. "I should probably email Grampa and let him know we got here safe, do me a favour and take some pictures of this place for me to attach to it" Ryou nodded and took out Yugi's small Fuji camera while Yugi set himself up, not noticing the white envelope the slipped out and onto the floor.

_Dear Grampa_

_Hope you don't miss me to much already! Were finally at the lodge, took us 5 and a half hours to drive from Auckland but it was worth it. New Zealand is so amazing to drive through, nothing like Domino. So many different types of terrain, one moment you're driving through cliff faces and the next your right beside a massive lake. Lake Taupo I think it was called. A lot of it was farm land though which wasn't all that interesting after a while but I tended to fall asleep so missed a lot of it. We're staying so close to the mountain, you can see it right from my room (I managed to get the master room!) Kya wasn't too happy about it but it's not my fault she was so slow. Kaiba has rented out an entire lodge for us in the middle of the national park, were basically in the middle of nowhere in a forest and I'm slightly creeped out at the thought of giant bugs but I'm sure the massive tv in my room will take my mind off them! I haven't seen the rest of the lodge yet, I thought I'd let you know we got here safe. Ryou's just taking some photos for me so you can see this place, it's absolutely crazy. We'll hope the shop isn't giving you too much trouble and don't push yourself with those heavy boxes, get Yami to help you out so you don't strain your back again! _

_Off to go explore this giant place now and relax before we hit the slope_

_Much love_

_Yugi_

Yugi smiled happily, re reading his email for any spelling mistakes and pulled out the memory card of his camera that Ryou had chucked on his bed and uploaded all the photos and sent off the email. He shut down his laptop and hopped off the bed determined to explore every inch of his home for the month.

…..

_Oh my god_ was the only thought that entered Yugi's head as he walked into the main living area of the lodge. Right in the centre was a designer leather lounge suit that recline all seats and a varnished mahogany coffee table that was big enough to hold 10 people around it. In front of it was another fireplace, double the size of the one in his room that had the theme of the fern carvings from the front door etched around the opening and a tv once again above it. There was a giant stack of playstation, xbox and WII games off to the side along with accessories like guitar hero. On the far wall was a giant window that looked out to a tennis court, swimming pool and spa. Behind the lounge suit was an alcove that lead into a room with a fully stocked bar area that held a red felt pool table and another identical lounge suit. Above each room was crystal chandeliers that was carefully detailed around four deer antlers. Getting over his shock he made his way through doors to the right which lead him to the kitchen and dining area which once again gobsmacked him. He heard Kya chuckle at him from the impressive dining table made of a wood again but had a glass panel in the middle of it.

"You sure you're okay cooking shorty? That kitchen looks damn intimidating. From the looks of it, it's completely designer with all the Italian gadgets in it" Yugi grimaced, Kya was right, this kitchen was made for a professional cook not an amateur like him. He made his way into it, running his hand over the black marble counter and sighed

"Call Kaiba Kya, there's no way I'm going to be able to work out this place" he joined her at the table and pulled out one of the books in the information pack

"Don't be silly Shorty, you'll be fine, Ryou and I will help you out even if we just end up making homemade burgers the entire time" Yugi laughed at the thought of the three of them attempting to cook together and nodded

"Alright Kya, homemade burgers it is!" he looked back at the book in his hand and frowned "Does that guy expect us to read all of this?"

"Nah, the main thing is the emergency section and security stuff but everything else is just the normal housekeeping bull shit. Shorty…I know you don't want to talk about it but you know if you ever want to get things off your chest my ears are open" Yugi looked at his hands and shook his head sadly, he did not want to think about Yami and his ex-friends, he was here to start a new life and move on from them all

"Kya, I'm okay. Yami…it's complicated, I know I've never given you the full story but it's because it doesn't matter anymore. Duel monsters, the millennium item's, Yami…it isn't my life anymore and I don't see a point in dwelling on it" he sighed, fighting back memories and the betrayal that was trying to fight its way past his hearts walls

"Millennium items?" Kya questioned. Yugi bit his lip and scolded himself in his head. Kya had no idea about the millennium puzzle and the adventures it threw him into. She had no clue where Yami had really come from and he didn't think she would ever believe him

"Oh, um there nothing Kya just old Egyptian stuff my Grampa would go on about" He jumped up quickly and put a fake smile on his face "How about we go find Ryou and we have a few games of pool before we fail miserably at making dinner?"

"Yugi, you can tell me anything and I won't judge you, no matter how crazy it sounds but I'll leave it for now" Kya gave him a massive hug but then put her normal demeanour back on "Come on Shorty, let's go so I can kick both your guys' asses!"

…

The weather was terrible in Domino city and Yami had to force himself out of bed to face the grey rain clouds that had descended on the city. It had been two days since his hikari had left and the distance was tearing at his heart. He never thought that Yugi would be so far away from him to the point their mental connection couldn't reach each other. _I wonder if he's read the letter yet_ Yami thought as he put on the blue domino high uniform and his trademark buckle neck collar. Looking over himself in the mirror he sighed, his crimson eyes had dark circles under them due to worry and lack of sleep and his spikey tri coloured hair looked dull, his bangs and lighting shaped highlights seemed to be unusually unruly and no matter what he did they wouldn't sit right. _I guess this is as good as it gets_. He made his way down stairs and smiled at Grampa who had a bowl of cereal out on the table for him

"Yami are you okay my boy?" he heard concern in the older man's voice and nodded his head. Noticing he was on his laptop _has my aibou emailed?_

"I'm fine Grampa, just having trouble sleeping" Sugoroku frowned but then passed him the laptop. Yami raised an eyebrow at him a look of confusion on his face

"I've been worrying about Yugi to, he emailed this morning and our welcome to read it to put your mind at ease. Oh check out the photos! Seto has defiantly gone above and beyond for them" Yami smiled. Sugoroku Mutou had taken in Yami with open arms and treated him as if he was his own and Yami held him in the highest respects. Yami turned his attention to the email and gave a small chuckle as he pictured Yugi running to claim the biggest room in a childlike manor. Although the message was brief Yami was content that his lighter side was in a safe place and clicked on the images. His heart clenched as the first image was of a sleeping Yugi in a car, his head resting on Kya's lap. Yami saw red with jealousy at the thought of Yugi being so comfortable in someone else's presence. He clicked onto the next photo, his jealousy pushed down as he let out a loud laugh. It was a photo of Yugi standing in front of a giant cast iron sheep with Ryou, both boys looking awkward as they posed. Yugi had one hand pointing to the sheep a look of horror on his face as if it was going to eat him and Ryou looked like he was trying to kiss it. "Looks like there having fun doesn't it?" Yami nodded, sadness this time washing over him _when was the last time we had fun like that?_

"I should get going to school grampa, say hi to Yugi for me in your reply" he stood up and placed his untouched bowl in the sink, the older man frowned at him

"I don't know what's happened between you two Yami but I hope you two fix it. It's making both of you miserable" Yami lowered his head _is it that obvious?_

"He doesn't want to fix it Grampa, he made that pretty clear. Yugi doesn't want anything to do with me" he was engulfed in a hug, Sugoroku sensing the sadness in his words

"My grandson is stubborn but I know he cares deeply for you. Yes he is happy with this new path he has created for himself but I can guarantee you my boy that he will want you to be a part of it. Just give him time" Hope welled up in Yami, if anyone knew Yugi the best it was his grampa

"I hope so gramps because without him in my life everything just seems grey" Yami gave Sugoroku a quick squeeze and left the shop, making his way towards another day of school.


	5. Old friends

Yugi looked down uncertainly at the white slope of the Mount Ruapehu nervously, over the past week him, Kya and Ryou had progressively made their way up the mountain set level trails and had reached the black, high experience track. Yugi was slightly worried, the snow on the mountain was completely different to the artificially created snow back home so it was a lot quicker and had taken Yugi awhile to get use to the faster pace. Kya and Ryou had encouraged him all the way, pushing him harder every day and he knew today would be no different, once they had perfected this track they would begin their trick training for the next three weeks and he was determined to make sure that they had it down pact by the end of the day. He looked over to Kya who was in her black snowboarding pants, bright pink camouflage pattern jackets with matching black beanie and pink googles, she smiled at him encouragingly. Ryou stood next to her on his ski's in a matching pants but green jacket and goggles.

"Are you ready for this shorty?" Yugi bit the bottom of his lips, his worried amethyst eyes hidden behind his blue googles. He could hear the comfort in Kya's voice but it did nothing to calm his nerves

"As ready as I'll ever be I guess, what about Ryou?" Ryou nodded his head and smiled, he seemed a lot calmer to Yugi, probably due to him having more experience than him on a proper mountain slope

"No time like the present Yugi" They all checked that their bindings were secure before unanimously nodding and Yugi took a deep breath in, if he didn't go now he would chicken out and that was the last thing he wanted. Without a word he faced his board downwards, the thick clouds blocking his vision from seeing the lower part of the mountain and took off. Ryou and Kya followed suit and they all began twisting their way down, making sure to look out for the black sign post's that were their only guides. Yugi's nervousness disappeared quickly, every time he hopped on his board he felt free, his mind stopped thinking about all his problems and he felt completely care free. He pressed forward, determined to make it to the bottom without fault and leaving Kya and Ryou behind and not hearing their yell's to slow down. Instead he increased his speed, enjoying feeling the wind across his face and feeling as if everything in the world was in harmony as the snow shot out from the trail he was carving in the white powder. He had made it about half way down without any hassle until he came across a person who had fallen, they were right in the middle of his path and he had no way to avoid them due to his speed, he attempted to stop but found himself falling forwards and slamming into the person with full force, causing them to slide down the slope for a few minutes. Yugi was spread eagle on his back, groaning in pain as he attempted to push himself up, he could feel the bruising on his arms and back already forming and his ankles had taken a jolt as well, he was more concerned about the person he had run into though as he knew they could be worse off

"Are you okay?" he offered a hand to the female figure in a complete purple outfit only to have it slapped away angrily

"What the hell were you thinking moron! Didn't you see me there?" The woman stood up slowly, clutching her ribcage as if the wind had been knocked out of her. Yugi gapped, he would know that voice anywhere

"Mai? Is that you?" the women looked up and removed her hood and let her long waist length blonde hair fall out. She lifted her goggles up showing her lavender eyes and one eyebrow was raised curiously

"Who's asking shrimp" Yugi couldn't help but laugh, it had been a long time since he had last seen Mai during the ordeal with Dartz

"It's me, Yugi!" he heard her gasp and a hand flew over her mouth in shock before looking around wildly, Yugi knew she was looking for Joey "He isn't with me Mai, I'm here with other friends"

"Oh, I was hoping…I have some apologising to do" Yugi shook his head, a part of him was thrilled to see her but it also reminded him of everything he was trying to leave behind.

"YUGI MUTOU WHAT THE HELL DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING" Kya and Ryou skidded to a stop behind him, gasping for breath. Yugi held up his hand's in a submissive manor, he had never seen Kya this angry at him before "Didn't you hear us yelling at you to slow down! You could have seriously injured yourself Yugi! All your hard work would have been in vain!"

"I'm sorry Kya, I just got caught up in it all" he was pulled into a tight hug and awkwardly patted the angry girls back. Ryou stood off to the side waving shyly to Mai who smiled back at another familiar face

"Don't you EVER scare me like that again shorty, we don't know this trail at all and if you had hurt yourself I would never have forgiven myself" she held him back with both arms and inspected him, a small bruise was forming on his cheek and he flinched when she pressed against a bruise on his arm "Come on, we'll get you checked out"

"I'll come with, you sure did a number on me Yugi" Mai's thick American accent broke Kya's concentration on Yugi who was now taking off his board to carry down the mountain, there was no way Kya would let him board the rest of the way down

"Who the hell are you?" Yugi cringed, Kya's over protectiveness of the smaller boy sometimes came across far more aggressive then she meant it to. Mai just raised her eyebrow again and held out her hand

"The name's Mai Valentine, Top ranked duellist and Yugi's friend" Kya glared at her and Yugi frowned, she was thinking that Mai was one of the people who had abandoned him when in reality Mai was just a drifter, she could disappear for ages and come back as if she had never left

"Another one of _them_" Yugi grabbed Kya on the arm and shook his head, he knew she meant well but he knew Mia and he didn't want Kya scaring her off

"No Kya, Mai's a good friend of mine, she didn't have a part of any of that" Ryou stood next to Mai as a sign of his approval

"We may have not seen Mai in age's but that just her nature, So Kya please, play nice" Mai crossed her arms and sized Kya up but was clearly happy that Yugi had such a strong friendship with the girl. Kya's protectiveness was gone as quickly as it came and took Mai's hand, her usual bubbly smile on her face

"Sorry about that, my name's Kya, I'm Yugi's coach and friend aswell" Mai smiled back warmly at the girl and turned back to Yugi

"Come on, we'll go get sorted and then catch up at the café properly, I want to know everything that's been going on"

…..

"THEY DID WHAT!" Mia's voice cut through the café icily and Yugi, Kya and Ryou blushed in embarrassment. Yugi didn't want to talk about the people he left in domino but he didn't know how else to answer her questions when she asked how they were all doing

"We'll once Yami got his own body they just kind of…forgot about me I guess. They we're all so excited about him staying and competing himself we just grew apart" Mai looked furious but Yugi smiled back at her brightly "Hey it's okay Mai, if none of that happened I would never have stepped foot in Snow Planet and meet Kya here! And now I have a new passion, if I win the Domino regional Snow Boarding Championship I could get sponsored!"

"And if I don't say so myself he has a pretty good shot at it to! All thanks to my coaching I may say" Yugi laughed, Kya never failed to let people know she was responsible for where he was now

"But…what about duel monsters Yugi, you loved it, you're the top duellist in the world and you're just going to give it all up?" the question hit Yugi hard, how could he explain to her about Yami, about how he had given everything to a man who didn't love him back

"Yami's the king of games Mai, I've found a new path now…" Mai slammed her hands on the table angrily and Kya stood up, leaning over to her.

"Mai…he gave it up for Yami" Ryou's soft British accent broke the tension, confusion was still evident in Mia's posture and Yugi nodded to Ryou to continue knowing he wouldn't be able to say it himself "After the ceremonial duel Yami chose to stay here and I watched it all happen. I saw the group ignore Yugi, push him aside and treat him as if he never existed and Yami was so wrapped up in it all he did it as well. I watched day after day as Yugi tried to get the pharaoh to notice him again, he loved him so much that one day at school…he handed him the deck they made together and told him he could have it, that he no longer felt that he was worthy of the game. Of course the gang were too wrapped up in the prospect of Yami duelling that they didn't see that sacrifice Yugi had made for him…Yami took it as a gift, he didn't see what it meant. That day I saw Yugi's heart break and for months he wandered around as if he was an empty shell, it was obvious he wasn't eating or sleeping and I did my best to cheer him up but it was useless, the man he loved had forgotten him, his passion in life he had given to him as a last ditch effort to get him to see how he felt and his friends had chosen him as well. Yugi was left with nothing until he met Kya, he had found that passion he had with duel monsters again and ever since I've watched him grow and become a stronger person and that's why he's here training, not duelling. He has a new direction in life now Mai and I hope you understand that and support him because he doesn't need to loose anymore friends"

"Of course you have my support Yugi, I just hate knowing you gave up everything you worked so hard for to get nothing in return…it isn't fair" Mai's cheeks were stained with tears and Yugi got up and hugged her, it was nice to know she still cared about him and that she was still a true friend to him "When I see Wheeler next I'm going to give him an earful!"

"Don't worry about it Mai, as Ryou said I've got a new direction in life now and none of that matters anymore. If anything I've learnt a valuable lesson, never give someone everything if they can't do the same for you. Sure it's been hard to pick up the pieces and I feel like I still am but I'll get there" all three at the table gave a nod of support and looked down at their coffees "How about we get out of here early today? I'm way to sore to keep practicing"

"Shorty…" he knew Kya wanted him to keep going but after talking with Mai he felt that it would be useless, his heart wouldn't be in it so he gave her his puppy dog eyes and he saw her cave "Alright, where are you staying Mai we'll give you a ride"

"At the backpackers in Ohakuni" Yugi, Kya and Ryou all gave each other a knowing smile and turned back to Mai

"Not anymore Mai! You're coming to stay with us, Seto's rented out this ridiculous lodge for just the three of us so there's heaps of spare room and may I add a full stocked bar

"You don't have to ask me twice doll" Yugi smiled brightly, a part of him felt like it was fixing itself knowing that he had another person behind him.

…..

Yami sat at the desk in his room, his brows knitted in frustration as he organised his deck for the fifth time; no matter how many times he did it he couldn't help feeling that it wasn't right. He put the cards in his hand down and looked over to his two favourite cards, the Dark Magician and Dark Magician girl. _I wish you two were really here, it would be good to see some old faces_. He pushed the chair backwards and stood up, knowing he should probably try and get some sleep for school tomorrow and he hated how worried the gang was about him lately. He quickly got changed and lay down, looking at the roof and his mind flicked to Yugi, he had avoided going downstairs every second day as he knew Yugi would be skyping Grampa and he couldn't face him again; not once had Yugi mentioned his letter. Yami tossed and turned, begging his brain to stop thinking about his Hikari

"What did I do that was so wrong for you to leave me aibou?" he whispered into the darkness, many time's he wondered what the exact moment was when they had grown so distant and he couldn't come up with it. Suddenly light lit up the room from the desk where his duel monster cards were and he sat up quickly in surprise. Two shapes stood in the darkness, one the form of a tall male and the other a small feminine frame "Whose there!"

"Really Atem, that's the way you treat your two best friends after five thousand years?" he heard the light switch click and gapped, standing in his room was his former priest Mahad and his childhood friend Mana

"H-how is this possible?" his voice wavered in shock, they both were wearing modern day clothes. Mahad in a pair of blue jeans and a white dress shirt while Mana was in a pink sundress. Mana marched over to him, her finger pointed at him and he knew she was about to scold him

"Your father convinced the god's to send us here because you're screwing everything up Mr! They didn't give you a second chance at life to throw away the one thing worth staying for! You broke poor Yugi's heart and you're doing absolutely nothing to win him back!" The small spikey haired brunet jabbed her finger into his nose, her hand on her hip and Mahad chuckled

"That's enough Mana" Mahad's calm and cool voice made Yami smile, even though he could feel they were disappointed in him it was good to have them by his side again

"I wrote him a letter-" Mana cut him off, waving her arms in the air erratically

"A letter! He lost the damn letter Atem and even then what did you think would happen? That he would read it and come running back to you? Where has my best friend gone? The Atem I knew would go to the ends of the earth for his loved ones and here you are sitting around moping feeling sorry for yourself. Word's don't mean anything! So stop being such a baby and fight for Yugi, show him you love him because right now he thinks you couldn't care any less about him and if you really want to be with him you will hop on a plane to be with him"

"It's not that simple Mana, he's starting a new life and if he doesn't want me in it then I will respect that" this time Mahad stepped towards him a frown on his face and he shook his head in despair

"My King, Yugi loves you, he has always loved you and just because he has begun to carve out his own destiny that does not mean it is not one you both can share. Mana is right, you need to prove to him that you love him and you need to be the king I know you are, the king who stared down pure darkness to save those he loved; Yugi supported you then and now it is your turn to support him" Yami nodded, he felt his chest swell with determination and he knew his friends were right, for too long he had sat around wallowing in his despair. He wanted Yugi and he would do anything to prove to his aibou that he loved him.

"You both are right, I have been a fool" Mana smiled and clapped her hands together excitedly and jumped on one of her oldest friends and pulled him into a giant hug

"Of course were right, we've known you since you were in diapers!" Yami chuckled and wrapped his arms around her, enjoying having her in his arms again

"How long will you to be able to stay?" his face dropped, now that he had them back the thought of losing them again clawed at his heart, trying to force him back into despair again

"The gods gave us a choice, if we chose to come back we must remain here like you until we die a natural death. We have made our choice to stay with you Atem, we have been given the chance to live out our friendship till old age like it should have been" Yami nodded and pulled Mana off him gently before and walking over to Mahad who he took by surprise by bringing him into a hug as tight as the one Mana had given him

"Thank you, you have once again saved me"


End file.
